professionaldevelopment – Page 5

The Motivation Myth by Jeff Haden: An excellent reminder that motivation comes once you start doing something, not before.

I think about this book often. I finished it a year ago, my phone reminds me. And the messages in the book have definitely stayed with me. Lines like this are brilliant: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗮 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘁. 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸Continue reading “The Motivation Myth by Jeff Haden: An excellent reminder that motivation comes once you start doing something, not before.”

New service: manuscript assessments.

Early last month, I wrote a post about signing a contract with a client to do my first manuscript assessment. Anyway, it went well! I’m really pleased with this testimonial. Honestly, even though it was my first one, I didn’t find it a difficult task. It took me a while, yes, as I was overthinkingContinue reading “New service: manuscript assessments.”

What’s the best book to read if you want to write a novel?

This is a wonderful book. I love the examples given. The texts she chooses to exemplify structural elements span a wide range of genres. And she happens to have chosen loads I’ve read too so that made it extra engaging. I tried for a while to plot out my own ideas against the structure given.Continue reading “What’s the best book to read if you want to write a novel?”

If you want an insight into what it takes to get a book to print, read the acknowledgements.

📢 New writers. Have you studied the acknowledgements? If you follow me on social media, you may have seen yesterday I suggested The Editing Podcast is an excellent port of call for those wanting advice on the various components of publishing… May I also suggest you check out the acknowledgements sections of the books youContinue reading “If you want an insight into what it takes to get a book to print, read the acknowledgements.”

Getting real for a minute. Why attending an indie author conference was such a big moment for me. #20BooksMadrid.

Hi, it’s Claire Cronshaw from Cherry Edits and it’s time for me to share a real and raw moment with you. I’m here at the IFEMA in Madrid. You can see it there behind me. This is the 20 Books conference for indie authors. We’re on a break, but I’ve stepped out because I wantContinue reading “Getting real for a minute. Why attending an indie author conference was such a big moment for me. #20BooksMadrid.”

Is it more important to pay for a cover or editing if you’re an indie author?

Hey, indie authors. It’s Claire Cronshaw from Cherry Edits. I’m here at the 20 Books Madrid conference. A great opportunity to sell my proofreading and copyediting services to authors, right? Well, no, that’s not what I’ve come for. I’m just taking it all in. I’m listening. I want to hear what concerns you indie folkContinue reading “Is it more important to pay for a cover or editing if you’re an indie author?”

Cherry Edits: available for samples, blogs and short stories this spring/summer. Full-length novel edits from September. Here’s why.

😅 And breathe. I’ve just got to the end of a seven-month, back-to-back stint of client work for various #indieauthors. It’s been amazing. But I’ve deliberately not taken any novel-length bookings for the next couple of months*. Here’s why: 1️⃣ I need some time to work on my business. I’ve got the editing and proofreadingContinue reading “Cherry Edits: available for samples, blogs and short stories this spring/summer. Full-length novel edits from September. Here’s why.”

What is proofreading and what is it not?

In a couple of different places online, I posted the instruction to fill in the blank. 📢 When I send off my book to a proofreader, I expect that proofreader to ____________. 😅 Now, that’s the thing with social media. You don’t always get back what you anticipated. I could have put it into contextContinue reading “What is proofreading and what is it not?”

Your book is your baby – so find the right babysitter!

The author–editor relationship: an analogy: 👶 “I’m so proud of my book baby!” 🎂 “Happy book birthday!” I see a lot of authors using the baby metaphor to describe their books. I can definitely see why. All that time. All that nurturing. And that uncanny reflection where you see parts of yourself staring straight backContinue reading “Your book is your baby – so find the right babysitter!”

Save The Cat! Writes a Novel. A great book about story structure. Have you read it?

🤩 I’ll tell you what I’m loving about Save the Cat! Writes a Novel so far: 📚 the examples. The novels which are referenced to back up the claims about story structure. There’s a really nice balance in the selection of texts across genres, styles, eras, audiences. It’s just a stroke of luck that IContinue reading “Save The Cat! Writes a Novel. A great book about story structure. Have you read it?”